Words Have Power

Acts 21:22-25 “What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, 23 so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. 24 Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everybody will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law.”
 
PAUL had been an influential Pharisee. He had participated in Stephen’s execution (Acts 8:1). His leadership influenced violent oppression against Jesus’ church: Acts 8:3 But Paul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.  
   Then Paul’s dramatic new birth into Jesus’ apostle ignited a deep hatred among the ruling Jews because he preached Jesus is the Christ. To the Jews, Paul had completely denied all the Jews’ law and customs.
   In response to this, the Jerusalem church leaders advised Paul to demonstrate he still honored the Jews’ cultural traditions. One of those traditions was a seven-day ritual cleansing for a Jew who had returned from a long time in Gentile territory. In addition they encouraged him to pay for the expenses of four others who were committed to the Nazarite vow as described in Numbers 6:3-21. Paul followed their advice. But the hatred was too great.
 
Acts 21:26-29 The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them. 27 When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, 28 shouting, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple area and defiled this holy place.” 29 (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple area.)
 
Words have power to accuse and convict. We see this continually in all aspects of our lives, don’t we? Someone accuses another, and immediately the accusation takes root in our minds. We tend to believe what we hear. Why would people lie?
   People lie to get what they want and to validate their own motive and methods. The accusers lied about Paul’s teachings and taking Gentiles into the main temple. The lies created a riot and nearly killed Paul.
   Words have meaning. We must be careful to speak truth and to know the truth. Satan, the father of lies (John 8:44), was using his ancient weapon in an attempt to destroy God’s powerful apostle.